Life of a Sysadmin

The occassional trials and tribulations of a jack of all tr ades sysadmin in a startup in Silicon Valley

November 2005

Trackpoints, or as Dell calls them "Pointing Stick Covers"

My primary system at work is a laptop. It has both a trackpoint (the IBM name used for the pointing device in the home row) and a touchpad. I find I am slow and clumsy with touchpads and thus greatly prefer trackpoints (Dell seems to call them Pointing Sticks). I really like the grippy feel of a fresh pointing stick cap. When new, using the trackpoint is an absolute joy. But as they get filled with human goo and dirt moving the cursor becomes less and less accurate.

The Dell Latitudes I use at work each come with a spare trackpoint cap. Now seeing as how 4-6 months of heavy use wears one down to the point of leaving me unhappy, I clearly need a supply of more. Dell sells Pointing Stick Covers for $11 for two. The saleswoman I spoke with said that quantity discounts were not available for that part. Thinkpads come with two different types of trackpoints. One is grippy like the Dell's and the other is textured rubber. The rubber one is washable and lasts lasts much longer than the grippy one that once filled with dirt is unsalvageable.

A month or two ago, while at the University surplus store I came across a small cache of new in package ones for fifty cents a piece. I purchased the 9 that I could find in the box. That will keep me happy for a good while.

[2005/11/13 | /misc | permanent link]